Robert Blocker

Robert Blocker, DMA (born September 4, 1946) is an American classical pianist,[1][2][3] music educator, and university administrator,[4][5][6] who served as Dean of the Yale School of Music since July 1995 until 2023. He is a Steinway artist.

Robert Blocker
Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music, Yale University
Assumed office
2006
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at Southern Methodist University
In office
2005–2006
Preceded byRoss C. Murfin
Succeeded byPaul W. Ludden
Dean of Music, Yale University
In office
1995–2005
Founding Dean, School of the Arts and Architecture
In office
1991–1995
Dean, College of Music
In office
1988–1991
Dean, School of Music, Baylor University
In office
1983–1988
Dean, School of Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
In office
1981–1983
Personal details
Born (1946-09-04) September 4, 1946
Alma materB.A., Furman University (1968)
MM, North Texas (1970)
DMA, North Texas (1972)
Fellow, Harvard (1986)
OccupationMusic school dean
Music educator

Career highlights

Institutions
Yale
2006–current
Blocker is the Henry and Lucy Moses Dean of Music at Yale University, also holds the position of Professor of Piano, and is an affiliate Professor of Leadership Strategies at Yale University’s School of Management. During his tenure as dean, Blocker has seen the Yale School of Music endowment increase from $29 million to $375 million and planned additional commitments totaling $20 million. He presided over the restoration and renovation of the Yale music complex, which cost $100 million.
SMU
2005–2006
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Southern Methodist University, Dallas
Yale
1995–2005
Dean of Music, Yale University.
UCLA
1991–1995
Professor and Founding Dean, School of the Arts and Architecture, and Professor of Management (Adjunct), Anderson School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles
North Texas
1988–1991
Professor and Dean, College of Music, University of North Texas. Blocker was an alumnus of North Texas (MM, 1970, DMA, 1972). During his tenure, the endowment for the College of Music increased $2.25 million.
Baylor
1983–1988
Professor and Dean, School of Music, Baylor University
UNCG
1981–1983
Professor and Dean, School of Music, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
SFA
1976–1981
Associate Professor and Chairman, Department of Music, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches
Brevard
1974–1976
Associate Professor and Chairman, Division of Fine Arts, Brevard College, Brevard, North Carolina
Western Texas
1973–1974
Associate Professor and Chairman, Division of Fine Arts, Western Texas College

Education

Blocker earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Furman University in 1968. He earned graduate degrees — Master of Music in 1970 and Doctor of Musical Arts in 1972 — from the University of North Texas College of Music, where he studied with eminent American pianist Richard Brannan Cass (1931–2009), an alumnus of Furman and Juilliard and 1953 Fulbright Scholar to the National School of Music of Paris where he had studied with Nadia Boulanger.[7] In 1986, while serving as dean at Baylor, Blocker was a fellow at the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard in 1986.

Honorary degrees

Honors & awards

Selected publications

  1. The Robert Shaw Reader, Robert Blocker, Yale University Press (©2004) OCLC 56653473
  2. The Arts: Reflections of Society, Design for Arts in Education, July/August 1988 OCLC 5004435
  3. Philanthropy and the Arts: Weaving the Cultural Fabric of Society, Design for Arts in Education, March/April 1987 OCLC 5004435
  4. A Performer Analyzes, Noteworthy, Winter, 1981 OCLC 9250033
  5. The Arts: A Basic Educational Component, The American Music Teacher, September/October 1981; proceedings of the Symposium in Rhetorico of the Arts, Federation of North Texas Area Universities (1980) OCLC 1480467
  6. Teacher Certification Requirements in Texas: The Unending Struggle for Quality, proceedings of the annual meeting of the National Association of Schools of Music, Chicago (1980)
  7. Chopin's Revolution, Piano Guild Notes, September/October 1978 OCLC 1004537

Selected discography

Recorded May 14–16, 2007, Morse Recital Hall, Sprague Hall, The School of Music, Yale University
Blocker, piano; Biava Quartet
Recorded live, July 12, 2002, Beethoven Festival, Woosong Arts Center, Daejon, South Korea
Blocker, piano
Daejon Philharmonic, Shinik Hahm, conductor

Family & growing up

Blocker is a graduate of the St. Andrews Parish High School, which as since merged with West Ashley High School in the Charleston County School District of South Carolina. He was president of the Charleston County Student Council and is a member of the St. Andrews Parish High School Hall of Fame.

References

  1. Who's Who in American Music: Classical, R.R. Bowker, New York (1983) OCLC 10206087
  2. International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, eighth edition, International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1977) OCLC 3493652
  3. International Who's Who in Music and Musicians' Directory, ninth edition, edited by Adrian Gaster (1919–1989), International Who's Who in Music, Cambridge, England (1980) OCLC 655818187
  4. Who's Who in America, 45th edition, 1988–1989, Marquis Who's Who, Wilmette (1988) OCLC 18583716
  5. Who's Who in America, 46th edition, 1990–1991, Marquis Who's Who, Wilmette (1990) OCLC 22631411
  6. Who's Who in America, 47th edition, 1992–1993, Marquis Who's Who, New Providence, New Jersey (1992) OCLC 477185208
  7. Richard Cass, Influential KC Musician and Teacher, Dies at 78, Kansas City Star, November 30, 2009
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